Introduction

The Netherlands in Numbers answers questions about the Netherlands’ past and present in 34 infographics. This web publication is modelled after the booklet with the same title, and delves deeper into each question by means of texts and charts.

Facts about the Netherlands

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has a myriad of data on the country. This publication displays a tiny selection of that in a short and sweet way. Infographics provide answers to 34 different questions and are complemented by short texts, charts and maps. Those seeking more detail will find additional figures under the links.

Almost 125 years

CBS was established in 1899 and will be 125 years old in 2024. Annual figures and yearbooks have been compiled for quite some time. The oldest series is the Statistical Yearbook of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Empire in Europe, dated 1898. The first Statistical Pocket Yearbook was issued in 1924. It was mainly designed to provide policymakers with statistics about the Netherlands. Its successor, the Statistical Yearbook, served the same purpose.

Due to the advent of the internet, a book containing just figures was no longer relevant. The books became thinner and were made easier to read. Short texts accompanying the figures became part of the content. In 2014, the yearbook was given a new title, ‘Trends in the Netherlands’. As of 2020, it is titled ‘The Netherlands in numbers’ and comprises only infographics, each carrying the answer to a question. The explanatory texts can be found in the web publication. Again this year, a few image graphics from the past have been added. Even in the last century, beautiful data visualisations were being made at CBS.

More information

The CBS website cbs.nl presents news items with up-to-date figures almost daily. It also has dossiers and dashboards on the economy and society, and of course more information about CBS as an organisation. All the figures can be found on StatLine. For more infographics and for animations and videos, follow CBS on social media.

We hope you enjoy this fourth edition of The Netherlands in numbers!

The questions

1. What keeps people from eating healthier?
2. What is working people’s income?
3. How much of the energy we consume is renewable?
4. What percentage wears glasses?
5. How are the dragonflies and butterflies doing?
6. How many housing units are there?
7. How does home burglary affect people?
8. In what occupations do most people work from home?
9. How much more expensive did food get?
10. How many babies were born to unmarried mothers?
11. From which countries do most immigrants come?
12. How many centenarians are there?
13. How do fathers and mothers divide work and care?
14. How many cars are there?
15. How much milk does a cow produce?
16. What portion of income went to food in 1936?
17. How many pigs were there in 1910?
18. How many cattle and pigs in the Netherlands?
19. What do we import from China?
20. What type of shop is seen less and less?
21. How many nights are spent in Dutch hotels?
22. How often do older people have contact with neighbours?
23. How many adults comply with the physical activity guidelines?
24. Where do international students in the Netherlands come from?
25. What are the major religions?
26. How many litres of water do we use per day?
27. How many millionaires in the Netherlands?
28. How many inhabitants in the Netherlands??
29. Where can we ride our bikes?
30. At what age do workers retire?
31. Which day has the most birthdays?
32. How many people have a student debt?
33. How does CBS handle your privacy?